they're a big part of the debate over education right nw. you're the teacher of the year. if i looked at the results of standardized tests from your students, could i tell? is there something measurable in numbers about what you're doing in a classroom? >> well, you know what? the numbers tell a picture. they-- the numbers tell a story, but it's part of the story. it's like that beginning or just the middle or just the end. it definitely does not tell you the whole of what great teachers do with kids. it would be like going to the doctor and having your temperature taken and the temperature telling us everything we need to know about you. it doesn't. it gives us one number on one day and it tells us your health and wellness at that one moment. but it's not really that useful a piece of information taken in isolation. you know, if you looked at my test scores, i've taught every kind of kid imaginable-- i've had gifted and talented, i've had english learners, i've had students students who had special needs who have been mainstreamed and if you look at their test scores you